History Main / MoodDissonance

Inversions of EmpathicEnvironment are common. The EmpathyDollShot is a specific subtrope. CrapsaccharineWorld is when the dissonance is an inherent part of the story's setting. SoundtrackDissonance and LyricalDissonance are music-specific subtropes. SceneryDissonance is a subtrope involving the scenery contrasting with the nature of the events happening in it. See also MoodWhiplash, when the differences in mood are sequential rather than simultaneous. A HappyFlashback can be used to render a sad present scene more poignant. Compare ArtStyleDissonance. See also DissonantSerenity, for when a character, rather than the story itself, acts in a manner that's innapropriately or unsettlingly calm for their situation.

* Towards the end of the film adaptation of ''Film/{{Matilda}}'', [[SadistTeacher Miss Trunchbull]] is having her VillainousBreakdown and collapses in Matilda's classroom. The students cautiously advance on her as she awakens and immediately grabs one student to be thrown out the window. Matilda immediately uses her powers to open the window and helps him fly around a bit, making him laugh as light music plays in the background before bringing him back to crash into Miss Trunchbull and continue her breakdown/HumiliationConga.

** How about when [[spoiler: after navigating a very difficult sequence with some deft maneuvers, Wash is impaled MID-SENTENCE? Puts a real damper on the "whew we got through that one!" feel.]]
** Much earlier in the movie, of course, as relationships and moods are imploding left and right, [[spoiler: River hears the impossibly cheery Fruity Oaty Bar commercial, complete with kawaii-but-disturbing visuals, which triggers her WaifFu so hard that she maims or incapacitates nearly everybody in the bar. Including Jayne!]]

* ''Star Wars Episode III: Film/RevengeOfTheSith''. Darth Vader has just been mutilated, is imprisoned in an awful suit for the rest of his life and has just discovered that ''he'' killed his wife, his entire motivation for his turn for evil which was directly responsible for his prior two predicaments. Of course, it's the dramatic peak of the movie and possibly the franchise, the moment where the whiny hero Anakin Skywalker truly dies and Darth Vader rises as a force of evil. Wait, what? It's not? Then what... Nooooooo!

* In ''WesternAnimation/TurningRed'', Mei and her friends shedding tears of joy at the 4*Town concert happens while Ming ominousnessly approaches in her giant red panda form crushing everything in her way.

* The random jump rope scene in ''WesternAnimation/BigBuckBunny''.

Inversions of EmpathicEnvironment are common. The EmpathyDollShot is a specific subtrope. CrapsaccharineWorld is when the dissonance is an inherent part of the story's setting. SoundtrackDissonance and LyricalDissonance are music-specific subtropes. SceneryDissonance is a subtrope involving the scenery contrasting with the nature of the events happening in it. See also MoodWhiplash, when the differences in mood are sequential rather than simultaneous. A HappyFlashback can be used to render a sad present scene more poignant. Compare ArtStyleDissonance.

* The whole point of Spike and Drusilla in ''Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer'' is that they act like any other giggling, heavy petting, sexy, young couple in love... over scenes of mass destruction that they probably caused.

* ''Series/{{Castle}}'' usually opens with some jolly tune, while the camera pans over yet another gruesome murder scene.

* ''Videogame/EarthBound'' is a fun, bouncy, delightfully absurd game. ''[=EarthBound=]'''s final boss is the embodiment of lost innocence, an indescribable dimension of horror ruled by a tragic monster who eats prayer.

* ''VideoGame/ModernWarfare'' features a "shooting gallery" level, "DeathFromAbove", in which the player controls the armaments of an AC-130 Spectre gunship and uses them in support of allies on the ground. The dissonance is in the calm, almost light-hearted banter of the crewmembers; when you send enemies flying with a shot from the 105 mm howitzer, they will exclaim things like "BOOM!", "I see lots of little pieces down there", "I see a guy running" and so on. This, of course, could very well be TruthInTelevision.

** Also, the potential for retaliation against that gunship was minimal, at least from the infantry armed with RPG's. Soldiers, even those in the safer battlefield positions, tend to become a lot less calm when there is a possibility, even the smallest chance, of a bigger fish coming along. Unlike a tank crew, these guys would probably have been safe from just about anything the Ultra-Nationalists holding the area could have used on them.

** After blowing up a ''truck full of enemy soldiers'' all the gunner has to say is "Shit, must have been a full tank of gas on that one".
* At the end of the credits for ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: World at War'', a number of real soldiers who fought in World War 2 are named, and thanked with fairly emotional words for their service and their help in crafting the game. Aaaaand then you transition into VideoGame/NaziZombies...

[[folder:Web Comics]]

* ''WebComic/HoovesOfDeath'''s entire premise runs on this, considering it's all about a group of noble, superpowered warriors who are humanity's last defense against a seemingly unstoppable ZombieApocalypse. It's just that said warriors happen to be adorable, sparkly, pastel-colored ''{{unicorn}}s''.

** In "Party of One", [[GenkiGirl Pinkie]] [[CloudCuckoolander Pie]] starts growing increasingly suspicious of her friends avoiding her; for her, not being liked would be the worst thing imaginable. She being a character that can't even sneeze without comedy, it's played for comedy -- but gets increasingly disturbing with the growing element of her outward anger and inner pain (and the others' distress over how they can't just put her at her ease about it yet because they're hiding something). In the climax, falsely convinced she has solid evidence her friends want to disown her, Pinkie suffers a full-fledged psychotic break and starts holding a party alone with inanimate objects, with the surreal scene depicting her mental state vividly. At this point, the elements of the scene are so mixed that it's not even clear whether the dominant mood should be considered funny and even cute, or sad and disturbing as heck. (If BlackComedy were a mood, it would be easy to answer this.)
** Pinkie Pie tends to be the ''god-queen'' of this trope due to her [[CloudCuckooLander wackiness]]. Charging in to attack Nightmare Moon? She hops with a big smile while everyone else is deadly serious. Getting ready to take out Discord? She tells ''both'' her friends and the baddie to wait (which they do) so she can have one final drink of the free chocolate milk raining down. She also tends to invert it. When everyone else is calmly walking around the Crystal Empire politely asking for information, she's sneaking around dressed like [[VideoGame/SplinterCell Sam Fisher]] and disguising herself as Fluttershy.
** In "The Return of Harmony, Part 2", Twilight Sparkle slips past the DespairEventHorizon after the Elements of Harmony fail to work on Discord and her corrupted friends leave in a huff after a big argument. She sadly walks back to the Ponyville library, her head hung low... while a cotton-candy PersonalRaincloud rains on her, silly things like dancing buffalo and an upside-down rain of pies happen all around her, and Discord shows up to mock her failure.
** In "It's About Time" when Twilight Sparkle meets her future self, she suggests in a panic that the reason for her [[DuelingScar scar]] and her [[EyepatchAfterTimeSkip eye patch]] are the result of an "epic pony war". Given what these creatures are capable of in-universe such a thing actually ''would'' be pretty nasty, but just try and say the phrase ''"epic pony war"'' out loud without smirking.

* With its upbeat, J-Pop-ish theme tune, ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'' sometimes suffered from this after a dramatic opening sequence. Somewhat downplayed as most serious episodes would use the English version of the theme song, while the more comedic episodes utilized the Japanese version; it doesn't help matters, but it's a good indicator of what an episode is going to contain.
** Example from ''Apprentice: Part 1''. Robin wakes from a disturbing nightmare about Slade, in a cold sweat, to find Cyborg telling him that they've been contacted by the aforementioned villain. Seconds later: ''When there's trouble you know who to call...''
* At one point in the ''WesternAnimation/RickAndMorty'' episode "Edge of Tomorty/Rick Die Repeat", Rick ends up in an alternate version of Earth populated by bug versions of the characters. In this universe, the Smith family are wasps who eat their prey alive, and their dinner tonight is Morty's math teacher, Mr. Goldenfold, who is a caterpillar. Goldenfold screams in agony and begs for death throughout the scene as the Smiths tear him apart, burn him with acid, and eat his larvae, adding a BlackComedy twist to what would normally have been a heartwarming family moment.

* In ''WesternAnimation/TheIncredibles'', partway through the movie, there is a montage in which SuperHero fashion designer notes the drawbacks to capes. The [[DeathMontage montage]] is of several superheroes and superheroines getting into quirky cape-related accidents. The accidents are so hilarious that you don't dwell on the fact that they were fatal. Especially the ''teenage girl getting sucked into a jet engine.''

* When ''Manga/Reborn2004'' underwent CerebusSyndrome, the characters still kept their comedic gimmicks, such as Yamamoto still believing they are all just playing a game and complimenting Ken on his "realistic wolf puppets". Leroy Douresseaux of Comic Book Bin said that the battle arcs are like if the cast of ''Series/ArrestedDevelopment'' was injected into the setting of ''Manga/{{Naruto}}''. This is notably averted with Giannini, who had his appearance and personality redesigned for the future arc.

** Right after End of Act 4, when [[spoiler: dream-Jade has died]], what's the first thing we see? [[spoiler: Her stuffed corpse, in the same manner as her grandfather's, in a disarmingly cheerful pose.]]
** Also, immediately after the Jade: Enter flash, the next page shows [[spoiler: Bro, dead by his own sword. It is a tragic and terrifying WorfEffect moment.]] Of course, the ''very next page'' shows Jack putting on his shades and gloves. It is simultaneously hilarious and disturbing. You don't want to laugh at it, ''but you have to.''
** As well as the usage of ''Webcomic/SweetBroAndHellaJeff''-style StylisticSuck imagery during [[spoiler: Gamzee's murderous rampage.]]

* Any time a thoroughly dramatic moment in ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'' is followed by a ridiculously peppy commercial bumper.
** ''Evolution-R'' managed to avert this: in the few thoroughly serious episodes, the eyecatch has different, moodier music.